Visible-Light-Mediated Photocatalytic Aerobic Dehydrogenation of N‑heterocycles by Surface-Grafted TiO₂ and 4‑amino-TEMPO

Herein, the visible-light-induced dehydrogenation of N-heterocycles such as tetrahydroquinolines, tetrahydroisoquinolines, and indolines in O₂-containing suspensions of a commercially available titanium dioxide photocatalyst yielding the corresponding heteroarenes is presented. 4-Amino-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpipiridinyloxyl (4-amino-TEMPO) was found to exhibit a beneficial role, as it increased the yield and improved the selectivity of the dehydrogenation reaction. Both the selectivity and the yield are further enhanced by grafting 0.1 wt % of Ni­(II) ions onto the TiO₂ surface. It is proposed that the basic reactant adsorbs at Lewis acid sites present at the TiO₂ surface. The dehydrogenation reaction is initiated by visible-light excitation of the resulting surface complex and a subsequent single-electron transfer from the excited N-heterocycle via the conduction band of TiO₂ to O₂. Ni­(II) ions possibly serve as an electron transfer bridge between the conduction band of TiO₂ and O₂, while the TEMPO derivative is assumed to act as a selective redox mediator involved in reactions of the generated reactive oxygen species.